Table of Contents

RKYV # 34 {March 2010} Featured Artist Review

RKYV LOGO - David Marshall {current} – Giovanni Medina
RKYV LOGO – r. j. paré {modified} - By r .j. paré
RKYV LOGO – Roy G. James {original}
Short Fiction
Virtual Cover # 34 - Another Wacky Anja Moment
- Art by Giovanni Medina - Bliss
- Layout by David Marshall - The ‘alleged’ attack of the 500 ft
marmoset
Interior Art - By Marie Lecrivain
- By De Tourist, r. j. paré [& family], Trevor
Yarmovich, Josh Bowe, Carl Haynes, Engin Poetry
Korkmaz, Lee-Ann MacDonald, Mykl G Sivak - By Frances Nichols Vargas, L. A. Raven,
r. j. paré
Editorial Column
- “At the Outset: Pop Culture
A Few Thoughts from the Editor” - “Comic Book Review”
- By r. j. paré - By Brad Bellmore

World View - “Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons”

- A Canadian Living in the USA - By Pauline Paré
- By Tom Rossini

<- Genevieve, Chantel & Lady

– by r. j. paré
 At The Outset
A few thoughts from
the Editor
By r. j. paré
“And in the end we lie awake
and we dream of making our escape.”

“Death and All His Friends,” Coldplay

Meanwhile… Dick Giordano

The title of this column, as any comic fan of a certain age should know, is a nod to the
monthly editorial written by Dick Giordano during his tenure as an editor with DC
Comics. I didn’t know Mr. Giordano but I knew his work. How could I not? Growing
up in the 1970’s I was a regular “Johnny DC” FANatic. I could not wait to spend my
allowance on the next issue of Green Lantern, Justice League of America or Teen Titans.
Dick Giordano played an instrumental role in creating these fables of my youth. As
such, I was deeply saddened the other day to learn of his passing. At an age when many
are putting their feet up and retiring to fishing poles and rocking chairs Dick was still
an active part of the Comic Industry. From his work as an Inker, an Editor and a
champion of Creator’s Rights, Dick Giordano made an impact on the industry, his
peers and of course the vast populous [of which I am proudly a part] known collectively
as “The Fans.”

I was fortunate enough to start reading comics when Giordano was, arguably, at the
zenith of his talents as an inker. His collaborations with Neal Adams on his seminal
early 70’s Green Lantern run are a milestone that marked the end of the Silver Age and
the beginning of the modern age of comics and comic book story telling. He was, for all
intents and purposes, DC’s “go-to guy” on many milestone comic projects during this
period.
As an inker his finishing work,
embellishments & shading can be found
on everything from the aforementioned,
critically acclaimed, GL run to the media
event / pop culture occasions of
Superman vs The Amazing Spider-Man
and Superman vs Muhammad Ali.

By the 1980’s DC recognized this award

winning talent by promoting him to Vice
President and Executive Editor a position
he would hold throughout the next
decade. He was instrumental in re-
launching the Teen Titans as they would
go on to out-sell their Marvel
counterparts the X-Men for the first time
in their published history.

And then, of course, came ‘the event’ that

would spawn all future ‘event comics.’ In
1985, the limited series cross-over that
re-defined how DC would tell stories and
publish comics forever – The Crisis on
Infinite Earths – was published.

Marv Wolfman [as writer], George Pérez [as lead artist – penciller] & Dick Giordano
[as inker] – produced an epic tale of struggle, tragedy and heroism that was as much
BANG for your buck as you could conceivably hope for in a comic book. Like Salinger’s
“Catcher in the Rye” & The Beatles “Sgt. Pepper,” it is the yard stick by which, even to
this day, other projects have been measured. Every year re-issues of Crisis continue to be
purchased and enjoyed by multitudes of fans. A critical, financial and pop culture
success it is an example of, one of those rare moments, when an artist [of any medium]
creates something that lives on and continues to have an influence long after them.

I highly recommend you seek out his works, if you are unfamiliar; they are among the
finest examples the medium has to offer. For more on Dick Giordano:

www.dickgiordano.com

***
This month RKYV ONLINE is pleased to present an up and coming comic artist in the
person of… GIO!

In a recent interview Giovanni Medina took the time share some background info with
us, a selection of his art and his thoughts on being a struggling artist in his chosen
profession. I hope it as much fun for you to read as it was for me to write.

In addition our returning columnists, Tom Rossini, Brad Bellmore & Pauline Paré once
again provide witty insights and reviews on subjects ranging from sports to comics and
TV. I would also like to thank all of the contributing artists & writers for sharing their
wonderful pieces with us and I invite you, dear reader, to turn the page and enjoy them
for yourself. I’d like to sign off this month by lifting a line [the sincerest of
compliments] from the esteemed Mr. Giordano. ‘Back in the day’, he wrapped up each
month’s DC editorial column a succinct and professional:

“Thank you and good afternoon.”

Requiem
{July 20 1932 – March 27 2010}
Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz
 Take Me Out To
The Ball Game...
By Tom Rossini

Did you hear that... “OH SAY CAN YOU SEE...” and the ever popular 7th inning
stretch song “Take me out to the Ball Game...” they can only mean one thing: Spring is
here and so is Major League Baseball. Today April 5th is the opening day for many
Major League Baseball Teams which is about 1 week later than normal and as a
sidebar... it is the most popular day for one to call in sick.

“A good cigar is like a beautiful chick with a great body who also knows the American
League box scores.” ~M*A*S*H, Klinger, “Bug-Out,” 1976

So, who were the lucky ones that were chosen to throw out the first pitch? To no
one’s surprise, at the Washington Nationals' season opener, the first pitch this year was
thrown out by US President Barack Obama. In doing this, he continued a tradition that
began 100 years ago. Hank Aaron added to the Opening Day excitement at Turner
Field on Monday by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The 76-year-old Hall of
Famer made a strong throw to Heyward, the Braves catcher. Over in Citi Field Darryl
Strawberry is to throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Mets Opening Day.

Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up. ~Bob Lemon

Baseball is a favourite past time for many American's. I would not consider it to be
the Canadian's favourite past time as I personally feel that Hockey is their passion and
out of the 29 major league baseball teams only 1 is from Canada - The Toronto Blue
Jays. So, I guess it’s no wonder that Baseball is as American as Baseball, Apple Pie, and
Chevrolet.

Say this much for big league baseball - it is beyond question the greatest conversation
piece ever invented in America. ~Bruce Catton

PLAY BALL !!
Leaches – by Mykl G Sivak
The Lighthouse – by L A Raven
 Featured Artist
Review
Giovanni Medina
By r. j. paré
I have had the pleasure to collaborate with Mr. Medina
over the last year and allow me a moment to share with
you, the RKYV audience, a little bit about the artist, I
know as GIO. The man is a talented artist but more
importantly he is a gem of a collaborator. In this
medium, where story telling is achieved through creative
partnerships between writers, multiple artists [pencils,
inks, colours] and editors – well that is truly a
remarkable skill / talent. His story suggestions are
valuable to me as a writer and he really listens to input
when finding a way to adapt imagination [ie: scripts -
LOL] into visual reality.

r. j. paré: Have you always known that you wanted to

be or, rather, were an artist?

Giovanni Medina: Well, when I was in Kindergarten, I used to love drawing cars.
Even though they didn't look like any cars you'd ever seen back then (actually funny
thing is, my car drawings looked like those Astro Minivans you see running around. I
thought that was funny when I saw the commercials) I loved doing it. And even the
teachers liked it. I loved hearing that praise, and the feeling I got from completing it.
Middle school came around and I was still drawing like crazy. I actually used to make
fun of my Principal through a comic character I came up with called Turtle Boy. I
remember, once, I was showing everyone that comic and they were laughing. Then a
teacher saw us laughing. It was Mr. Thompson. That guy HATED me! He took it to the
principal, thinking that the Principal would punish me, but the Principal wound up
laughing! He told me to keep up the great work. He was actually a pretty cool Vice
Principal after that to me {so many memories}. But yeah, basically, always knew, and
never gave up drawing. I actually got in trouble a lot of times, because of drawing in
class instead of doing my work.
 Artist’s Name:
Giovanni Medina
Title: Nightmare
Media Used: Sketchbook,
hard lead pencil,
Photoshop CS3, Manga
Studio
Size: 8.5” x 11”
landscape
Date Created: month ago
I think

rjp: Did you study or major in art while in school?

GIO: Well, I did go to Collins College of Art and Design for 2d Animation once, but I
only lasted 2 weeks. The reason was because of my mental illness, in which my
medication wasn't balanced off at the time. I wasn't mentally fit to stay, so I got kicked
out, unfortunately. Ever since then, I've been learning on my own, and taking the
advice of great artists that have taken the time to help me.

rjp: Who was your primary source of encouragement, as a child, in pursuing art?

GIO: My parents Willie Medina and Marilyn Medina, My Tio (Uncle) Sile, other
family and my close friends. My father in particular always thought I had craziest
imagination, and always loved (still does) looking at what new things I worked on.

rjp: What is your favourite media to work with?

GIO: My Pencils, sketchbook and especially my Micron Ink Pens. Also, my coloured
pencils.

rjp: Do you use any special tools and techniques to create your art?

GIO: Hard lead pencils and Photoshop.

 Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina
Title: Omnigon Henchmen
character ink
Media Used: Sketchbook Ink,
hard lead
Size: 8.5” x 11”
Date Created: awhile back

rjp: What inspires you to create art?

GIO: Comics, Manga, cinema, books and cultures world wide. And most of all, things
that happen in my life. My mood especially inspires my work. And the music I listen to
(hardcore underground hip hop like Wu Tang Clan, Onyx, Beatnuts, Big Pun,
N.O.R.E., Pharoah Monch, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Etc.) is definitely necessary. It may
sound strange, but this music is essential to get the proper energy I put into my work.

rjp: How would you categorize your artistic style?

GIO: I used to categorize is as Manga, but nowadays, I've sort of given up trying to
appease to that genre. A lot of people have spoken harsh opinions in the past of me
calling my project Eternal Manga, and now, those statements have sort of soured my
passion in trying to cater to that audience. Don't get me wrong, I love Manga, and
always will. And it most definitely influences my work heavily. For now, I chose to label
it as a "Passionate Style". In the way the art mirrors everything I feel in my heart and
soul. From my anger to my love, that's all I can call it for now.

rjp: Would you say that there is a "message" or "unifying theme" in your work?

GIO: Intensity, high energy, dark, gothic, some hope, love, hate. Highly styled action.
There's no one uniform theme in my art, each piece is as varied as my own moods. One
day I'll draw a Spongebob holding a kitty for my daughter, the next I'll be drawing
Dora slamming Ramone's face into the ground.
 Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina
Title: Peaceock Scythe
Media Used: Sketchbook, Hard Lead 4h
Pencil, GIMP
Size: 8.5” x 11” landscape
Date Created: Middle of Last Year

rjp: Which famous artists / creators or styles have

influenced you? Why?

GIO: Oh wow, Sam Keith (The Maxx), Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun), Shirow Masamune (Ghost
in a Shell), Frank Miller (Sin City) and Tite Kubo (Bleach, Zombie Powder). I like Sam Keith's
use of heavy inks to set a dark mood, and his unique characters. Plus he was the first artist to
create a comic that made an average normal everyday guy (he was a mentally ill homeless guy,
that actually was the hero of the story) Yasuhiro Nightow's artwork is full of stylized action and
over exaggerated poses, his work just OOOZZES with over the top action and style from every
pore of its collective pages, ink lines and tones.

Shirow's deep complex storylines and attention

to detail are what I strive for and what I dream
of accomplishing some day. Frank Miller's use
of noir-ish adult themed storytelling makes me
drool. Marv is the man! and his quirky
characters inspire me to no end. The same with
Tite Kubo. His ink patterns actually launched
me on my way to redesigning my characters for
Eternal's One Shot (which I want to pitch to
Dark Horse when I finish working on it)

Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina

Title: Eternal Promotional poster
Media Used: Sketchbook, hard lead pencil
4h, Photoshop
Size: 5” x 8”
Date Created: A few weeks ago
 Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina
Title: Eternal pages 1 & 2
Media Used: Bristol Board, Blue lead
mechanical Pencil, Ruler, Different Micron
Ink Pens, Paint Brush and ink well
Size: 8.5” x 11”
rjp: Would you rather have an engaged &
loyal but, ultimately, small Indie
readership or work on the latest Spidey,
Wolverine or X - book? [The old Art vs
Commerce question.]

GIO: It all depends if I could support my wife and kids. They are my main priority. Ultimately,
I'd love to work on my own stories for Dark Horse. Seeing as Dark Horse is sort of indie, and
their comics have been made into movies and animations, then yes, indie all the way.

rjp: With advancements in computer graphic tablet technology, some artists are now creating
their work directly in the digital medium and releasing it in purely digital formats... are the days
of paper & pulp doomed to the realm of fading memories?

GIO: Never. I have a sort of loyalty to traditional mediums. I was raised on my sketchbook and
pencils. I take my sketchbook everywhere I go. I like to get rough with my sketchbook when I
draw. I could never do that with my tablet pc. Although I do believe digital is the way to go for
speedy high quality artwork when an artist needs to meet a deadline. Even more so if you're on a
limited budget and can't afford paints, ink pens and hard leads every time you run out.
 Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina
Title: Eternal page 4
Media Used: Bristol Board, Blue lead
mechanical Pencil, Ruler, Different
Micron Ink Pens, Paint Brush and ink
well
Size: 8.5” x 11”

rjp: What do you think of the term

"starving artist"?

GIO: I think you should look it up in the

dictionary, read the last definition there,
BAM, says my name! GIO! And on the
example picture, BAM there's my face! :)
Only kidding. My point being, you have
to have a sense of humour in this field of
work, or else you'll go crazy with feelings
of inadequacy as far as your art goes, and
if you are wasting your time.

To be honest, I'm plagued with those feelings at times, thank God my wife Rina is here for me,
and when she wasn't there, my close friends and family were there to tell me my work is great,
and I just need to keep my head up.

rjp: Do you feel more a sense of community with other artists or a sense of competition?

GIO: I'm so glad you asked me this Randy, because now I get to express my thoughts on this in
public. I used to go to conventions, and I'd walk through artist's alley, and I'd see all these
artists. First thought in my mind is, "Finally! I'm amongst my own people!" But what happened
when I walked up to an artist's table and tried to talk shop? He acted like I wasn't even there. I
offered up the chance for us to trade portfolios and compare pieces, maybe inspire one another,
but he just said " I'm not good at critiquing others art" I was shocked and sort of insulted at his
attitude. And it wasn't that he was busy, he wasn't even working on anything. But there have
been other artists that see me as I see them. And that is, a brother in our war against the
mundane. Brothers and sisters in bringing life to a world filled with death and sadness. To bring
excitement into their lives. This may seem like an over-the-top statement, but I'm a strong
believer in art being therapeutic and good for the mind and soul. Did you know all colors have
a Psychological affect on the human psyche? For example, red brings about anger in our minds,
which is the reason prison Cells are coloured Taupe or White. These are calming colours. The
visual arts are almost on the same level as prescription drugs in my eyes.
rjp: How do you market yourself?

GIO: Not very well unfortunately. I tried Promoting myself over the past 6 or 7 years,
and I've found lately it's impossible to promote myself and continue work at a steady
pace. I'm not sure if this makes any sense, but I get "On a roll" with my work. For
instance with Eternal, I used to actually finish One Chapter at a time, Pencils, ink, tone
and letter, over the course of 1 1/2 all the way through. Once I finished, I would post all
24 pages up. During this 1 and a half months work period, no pages were put up.
Meaning I wasn't promoting myself at all. I had no time to. After I finished, I would
spend weeks trying to get the word out. I also tried Viral marketing, and putting out a
Youtube video. This worked to an extent, but putting together an adequate video I
could be proud of, took me awhile as well. All this time, adding up to a month or half a
month of promoting, I could have been working on another chapter. On top of that, I
also had to crank out new CGs. Anyone that has seen my work, knows I do digital
illustration as well as Sequential art. To more easily answer the question, Facebook,
Youtube, and word of mouth. It's hard when you're on a limited (sometimes non-
existent) budget.

rjp: Do you find it difficult to stay motivated/inspired?

GIO: There aren't enough

exclamation marks and bit enough
FONT to describe the big fat YES I
have to answer for that one. That
may be because of my current
situation. That may be alleviated in
the future.

Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina

Title: Eternal page 5
Media Used: Bristol Board, Blue lead
mechanical Pencil, Ruler, Different
Micron Ink Pens, Paint Brush and
ink well
Size: 8.5” x 11”
rjp: While traditional publishing and distribution has become a difficult goal to
achieve for the modern Indie comic creator, what do you think of the impact that social
networks and POD services have had as an alternate means of connecting you, your
work and your audience?

GIO: I think these Print on Demand sites are a great asset to all artists, whether they
are sequential artists of all genres… down to even Digital painters. To me, underground
is where it's at, and also, where a lot of great franchises these days get their start. They
are not only great, I feel they are essential.

Artist’s Name:
Giovanni Medina
Title: Azure Ceera
Media Used: Sketchbook, Ink, hard lead pencil,
Photoshop CS3
Size: 8.5” x 11” portrait
Date Created: half a year ago

rjp: What other interests do you have, besides

art?

GIO: Basketball, writing raps, MCing, trying

to be a good husband, father, as well as oldest
son and brother, playing video games when I'm
not drawing or working on something

rjp: You are a member of a cooperative creators

studio, Speakeasy Primates, what is that like?

GIO: Mr. Paré is really good people. He's been really helpful, and I look forward to
hanging out with everyone. Unfortunately, I may not be able to make it to the SPACE
con this year, but hopefully, that will change if I get any commissions between now and
April 25th *hint, hint everybody* ;)
rjp: Do you have any big plans, shows or Cons coming up?

GIO: I plan on being at Dragon Con, Momocon and AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta)
mainly because it's just up the highway from me. (We live 30 mins south of Atlanta.)
Anything out of town, I'm not 100 percent on yet.

Artist’s Name:
Giovanni Medina
Title: Necrohound
Media Used: Sketchbook, Ink,
hard lead pencil, Photoshop CS3
Size: 8.5” x 11” portrait
Date Created: half a year ago

rjp: How would you like your art,

and by extension yourself, to be
remembered?

GIO: I want my art to be

remembered as something
detailed, and that people will be
able to tell I put my all into every
single thing I drew and worked
on. My father told me a story long
ago that stuck with me to this day.

There was this guy that used to work in a warehouse. His sole job was to sweep that
entire Warehouse. It was a crappy job. Nobody else wanted it. A lot of people took the
forklift jobs, the foreman jobs and even the warehouse managers. This guy had to sweep
all the warehouse. It was what a lot of people call a "Dead-end" job.
But one day, the actual OWNER of the place came by and saw that he was working away, and
that ENTIRE floor was clean as a whistle, not a spec of dust to be found on the ground. The
owner of the place went to the security cameras to see if this guy had help, NOPE. He took his
20 min break, and got IMMEDIATELY back to work. Every day making sure he did his best,
for the "Worst job in the world". And you know what? That owner made that guy his RIGHT
hand man from that day on! The owner figured if this guy was a workhorse for next to
NOTHING, he would do WONDERS for a lot more. And I took that story, as one of my
Philosophies. As for what I want to be remembered as? I realized long ago, titles are like
material things. Best Rap Star Alive, Best Artist Alive, Best Artist EVER, really, even when your
ALIVE, that's not even necessarily true. By what standard ARE you the best? And even if
EVERYONE in the world DID think I was the best Artist alive at that time? When I die,
SOMEONE will take my place when I die. I can't take that title with me to the grave anymore
than I can my radio (death is boring I'd imagine, may as well have some music to keep me
company). So my goal is on a broader scale and at the same time simple and compact.

I don't want to be the best artist in the

world. I just want to be memorable. I want
to teach aspiring artists, learn from greater
artists, and even work with great artists. I
want to touch as many lives as possible
whether it is through my art or through one
on one conversation. And when I die, the
whole world may not remember me, but the
one's I've impacted, damn sure will my
friend. ;)

Artist’s Name: Giovanni Medina

Title: Nemesis Nurse
Media Used: Sketchbook, Ink, 4h Hard
lead pencil, Photoshop CS3
Size: 8.5” x 11”
Date Created: not too long ago

rjp: This was a piece GIO created for use as a

trading card, by Speakeasy Primates, for the
character Nemesis, a shape shifting assassin.
The unique low POV and amazingly cool
blur effect mad it an easy choice as cover art
for this month’s RKYV.

For more on GIO please visit:

http://1000degrees.yolasite.com/ &

http://www.wix.com/speakeasy_primates/speakeasy-primates [and use the staff tab to

navigate to GIO’s profile page]
Raised Knee Study [Abstract] – by Josh Bowe
 Short Fiction
RKYV ONLINE is pleased to present the following three [very] short fiction pieces,
vignettes if you will, by the talented Marie Lecrivain. The first two, having never been
published, are premiering here. The third piece originally appeared in poeticdiversity:
the litzine of Los Angeles.

Another Wacky
Ajna Moment
People with a future
instead of a face. –
Tomas Transtromer

Lady – Acrylic, by r. j. paré

What do I see at 4:44 am, curled on my side, fingers woven into the blankets before the
Sun starts to make his way over the international dateline of my consciousness? My eyes
are closed… my eye is… open; swirling purple lines of fire branch out into the
microcosms of my neighbourhood and attach themselves to the shifting dreamscapes of
those who lay in their beds… a child is a brave, bruised flower, her petals arching
upward to catch the silvery drops of rain falling from a tangerine sky… this man is a
spindly, creaking coat-track, fighting to stay strong under Sisyphean heaps of umbrellas
and coats and bags… the woman is an eggshell cup, cracking at the base… a husband is
a quivering mouse, sited in the predatory gaze of his feline, whiskered wife… the wife is
a dandelion seed, blown into a concrete crack of the sidewalk whose jagged sides are
pressing down… this sister is an orange slice, separated from her tangy siblings by
grasping, insistent fingers … the dog is a dog, barking at a pair of flip-flops shuffling by
the gate… a cypress tree is the lone warrior, tilting at windmills… Who am I to imagine
myself as the nexus… the arbiter of all possible pasts, presents, and futures? It's
amazing… isn't it… the absurdity of it all?

copyright 2008 marie lecrivain

bliss

“I’m sorry. I forgot your name again,” she

said.
Faith is a product of the Venice Beat poetry
scene. Tall, silver-haired, late sixties, or early
seventies; she can’t remember exactly. (She can tell
you-down to the last detail-all the times she partied
with Allen Ginsberg). Her smile is my cue to
forgive her.
I tell her it’s okay and reintroduce myself.
She relaxes and confides:
“It’s too hard. I’ve decided to stop fighting
the memory loss.” Chalk Landscape – the Paré family
[on picnic table]

That’s what she said the last time. And the time before that. Our conversation is
always the same; the backdrops might be different (this time we’ve met at a book
signing), and the time of day may vary, but our responses to each other over the last
three years have become ritualistic.
“I remember...” Faith closes her eyes, her face strains under the burden of recall.
The lines around her eyes have deepened since the last time she said this, six weeks ago.
“Okay, I remember now... a show I saw, about mothers with Alzheimer’s. It’s
hard when the children, especially their daughters, pressure their mothers to remember
the daughters’ names. The yelling, the screaming... how awful!”
I tap her arm gently. Faith opens her eyes and sighs.
“I’m glad not to fight this anymore,” she says. “It’ll almost be a joy to become a
blithering idiot.”
She mentions that she’s planning to host a weekly poetry reading at her house. I
give her my business card so she can email me the details. I glimpse the wadded-up
cocktail napkin poking out of her purse with my email address scribbled on it. Faith
takes a long look at my business card, and she then puts it away.
“I should remember your name. It’s my middle name.”
This is her cue to say good-bye. Faith leaves my side, and to drift into a
conversation with a young, be-whiskered poet. She flashes him the same smile. The
young poet nods his head in reply, just like before.

copyright 2006 marie lecrivain

 Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz

the “alleged attack of the 500 ft marmoset

In Bizzaro World, marmosets are 500 feet tall. One day, a marmoset named El-
Mar was sucked into a vortex at the bottom of a mailbox while sending off a cereal
rebate to Mills General.
He was transported to Los Angeles, a favorite with 500 ft marmosets in Bizzaro
World. In Angeles Los, marmosets treat mini-humans with love and kindness while
taking endless pleasure in watching the mini-humans indulge in their favorite past time-
the film making process, particularly the Verbal Gladiator Venture Capital Games.
It was quite a shock for El-Mar when he landed on Hollywood Blvd. His hairy
left foot accidentally smashed down and obliterated the red towers of Groman's Chinese
Theater during a premier of The Marmoset Wars. El Mar’s faulty landing resulted in the
deaths of 300 guests, 200 fans, 65 paparazzi, and three stars of Marmoset Wars, two of
which-that night-had formed a suicide pact while the third had previously planned to
file for bankruptcy.
 The crowd near Groman's was suitably impressed with the bloody carnage.
Naturally, they all assumed El-Mar was an expensive publicity stunt engineered by
MGM for the premiere. Imagine their collective surprise as El-Mar turned, still
confused by the effects of inter-dimensional travel and blinded by the many
searchlights, opened his mouth and said, “folks, that about Sorry. Me am hell the
Where? home get Me do How? searchlights annoying those off turn to as kind so be
please someone Could? you Thank.”
Normally, marmosets from Bizzaro World keep their chatter with mini-humans
to a whisper, so as not to frighten them. What the crowd heard was a 3,000 decibel level
screech, the likes of which cannot be produced in this narrative, and is better not heard,
written, or described.
With thousands suffering from perforated eardrums, the crowd started to flee.
They stampeded their way back to parking structures, fumbled for their car keys, and
screamed into cell phones. The screeching of the marmoset was so deafening that many
911 operators immediately hung up, and left the panicked callers on hold.

Meanwhile, El-Mar, having stamped

out the pesky searchlights, activated his
infrared night vision to attempt to save those
unfortunates who were in danger of being
trampled. He picked up one small boy
wearing glow-in-the dark striped Nikes and
a Marmoset Wars shirt. The boy, the son of
the executive producer of Marmoset Wars,
laughed. He was happy to be so high in the
air in the protective grasp of a friendly
monster until a stray bullet from an LAPD
helicopter flying around El-Mar's head
accidentally pierced the boy's skull. He
collapsed in El-Mar's paw without a sound.
Annoyed, El-Mar gently back-
handed the helicopter. The velocity carried
the remains of the helicopter through the air
in a northwesterly direction, where it landed
in the middle of State Street in Santa
Barbara and destroyed three sports bars, an
Urban Outfitters, and the favorite local
coffeehouse.
Off the boardwalk – by De Tourist

After this unfortunate incident, the city council (many of them former patrons
of the aforementioned sports bars) passed a town ordinance that forbade the ownership
of marmosets, and in a wise move, imposed a three minute time limit at poetry open
mics.
 El-Mar spotted a platoon of helicopters coming his way. Ignoring the screams,
he gently set the boy back down on the pavement (El-Mar was not aware that the boy
survived, and that after many years of therapy, he found employment as a copy boy and
stock person at Kinkos instead of becoming the Rhodes Scholar and U.N. diplomat he
was destined to be). In two giant strides, he stepped over three sets of buildings and
made his way down Sunset Blvd. The damage that his footprints had left behind
destroyed the MTA's plans for westward expansion of the Red Line, and backed up
traffic on Fountain Ave. for two years. This lowered the property values in West
Hollywood between Fairfax and La Brea, which caused a mass exodus of upwardly
mobile industry folk, Russian émigrés, Orthodox Jews, and Queer Nation advocates to
relocate to Sherman Oaks and Reseda.
In less than five minutes, El-Mar was in Pacific Palisades stomping straight into
the ocean. The last anyone saw of him on the Left Coast was the tip of his green tail (in
Bizzaro World, the colors of 500 ft marmosets are lavender, electric green, and canary
yellow) sinking down like a periscope into the waters of the Pacific.
Twelve hours later, a tired, but hopeful El-Mar emerged from the ocean onto the
shores of Kobe, Japan. El-Mar had lived in Kobe for a few years, and has a certain
affinity with the mini-islanders.
Realizing this wasn't a Tamogoche nightmare, the residents of Kobe looked up
at the giant marmoset looming over the horizon, scratched their heads, and said to each
other, “Oh great. We JUST got rid of that pesky Godz-...”

copyright 2006 m. Lecrivain

(previously appeared in poeticdiversity, August 2006)

“Act passionately; think rationally; be Thyself.” - Liber Librae

“What you risk reveals what you value” – Jeanette Winterson

MJ’s legs – by Carl Haynes 

bio: Marie Lecrivain is the executive editor and publisher of Dashboard Horus: A
Bird's Eye of the Universe, and is a writer in residence in her apartment. Her work has
appeared in Askew Poetry Journal, Leaf Garden Press, Re)verb, RKYV, The Bicycle
Review, The Los Angeles Review, The Toronto Quarterly, and is forthcoming
in Spillway, and Beside the City of Angels: An Anthology of Long Beach Poetry (World
Parade Books, Spring 2010). Marie's poetry collection, Antebellum Messiah, (copyright
2009 Sybaritic Press), is available through Amazon.com.

Untitled – by Engin Korkmaz

People Master – by Mykl G Sivak
 Poetry
Selected Poems
By Frances Nichols Vargas

Our Angel
You are the tiny bits of heaven raining down on a dark day
To spread your message of hope in your special way
You may be gone of this earth but
Your memory and life will forever live on in the lives you touched
You may be gone from our warm touch but
The feel of your love and embrace are still very strong and amazing
Your brief but precious memory will never be erased
Forever in our hearts
Forever in our thoughts

A canoe trip view, while resting – by L A Raven

The Cocoon
Dangling from a fragile branch
Retreating for solace and rest
Lying in my place of comfort
Waiting for my metamorphosis

Unable to resist the changes

Happening deep within me
Eager to see what is waiting once I leave

Each day growing stronger

Awaiting the wings that will give me flight
The wings that will introduce me to my new life

Soaring high in the sunshine and spring air

Fluttering away from all the familiar
Exploring the beautiful landscape
Leaving behind the cocoon and ugly times

Tasting the sweet nectar

From all the variety of flowers
Zipping across the lakes
With majestic beauty
Avoiding raindrops and dark skies
Fluttering and enjoying life.

Photos - by France Nichols Vargas

Selected Poetry
By L A Raven

Fairies of Happiness
Little fairies all around
Some fly up and some swoop down
All a sparkle, all a glitter
None who see them can feel bitter
Only smiles, laughter, joy
Positivity they employ
Sadness, pain, depression, grieving
all negativity on earth is leaving
Little fairies, they are here
Well damn it all, it's just the beer.

The Stone fence and the kettle – by L A Raven

 Paré’s Poetic Perspectives
By r. j. paré

I believe
---------- That is, I want to believe,
----- in as little as necessary
and as much as possible.

But maybe, I don't wanna believe

----- in packaged enthusiasm
---------- shoved down my throat.

Check that, who really believes?

---------- Did cheers by Pepsi Co

----- "Eh, OH" I wanna go
throw up in a red & white can.

Can you?
----- Will we?
---------- Do I?

I believe - I don't believe

good night.

One arm reaching up – by Josh Bowe

Greena Arrow & Merlyn © DC Comics – by Trevor Yarmovich
 Pop Culture
Comic Book Review
By Brad Bellmore

Pixie Strikes Back

Thumb Partly Up

Marvel’s new miniseries featuring Pixie from the X-Men is written by Kathryn
Immonen and drawn by Sara Pichelli. The story follows Megan Gwyn, aka Pixie
through a typical day in a typical high school. If you are a mutant. If your high school is
a slice of hell.

Spoiler alert: I will give away a big plot point by the end of this review.
Many more people will be able to relate to the hellish high school experience than the
mutant experience, however, anyone on the outside will be able to relate to the mutant
factor. Therefore, the proven staying power of the X-Men and the various titles spawned
from that: they reflect that more of us connect to being on the outside than being on the
inside.

Back to that hellish high school. Again, more people have a similar view to their teen
years as a slice of hell than the best days of their lives which is why so many stories –
both in film and in print – feature this motif. If it weren’t true for enough people, it
would become cliché. Instead it just becomes an old story that another writer tries to tell
in a new way.

And we find ourselves in high school with Pixie to explore that. Instead of this being a
teen angst saga that is metaphorically hell, Megan is actually in hell. Or at least tasting
it anyway. This isn’t ultimately revealed until the end of the first issue, but you get
plenty of hints along the way. Actually, that probably isn’t as big a spoiler as I set it up
to be, but I did give something away.
 Megan calls her mother to come pick her up at
school after she ends up in the nurse’s office. Her
mother ends up in Utopia, trying to find her and
learns that the X-men are also looking for her.
She is quite displeased and she is definitely not
the person you want displeased with you. There
will be hell to pay by the time this through. Of
course, that seems to be exactly what the demonic
principle wants.

The art in this book is a bit campy, but does a

great job of creating a sense of place in how
surreal the high school is and then a slightly
different style used for interactions on Utopia.
The art lets you know where you are and how real
were you are is. Overall, I enjoyed this. It hints at
Hellboy which is good but doesn’t quite deliver
the darkness nor the whimsy of that title. That
aside, it is one of the better journey’s though the
spiritual or through a character’s head that I’ve
seen portrayed on the comics page.

I think if you are the type that enjoys X titles or prefers the surreal and demonic, this
title is worth a peek. It won’t be the best thing you read this year, but it will be above
the majority of the stuff out there.

Daffodil

Thumb sideways

Soleil, in conjunction with Marvel comics, released a new series titled Daffodil. This
title is written by Frederic Brremaud (yes it really is spelled that way) and drawn by
Givanni Rigano. For those of you who don’t know, Soliel is a pre-eminent comics
publisher in France and they have joined forces with Marvel to distribute their work
here. They have brought some spectacular titles across the Atlantic and some that are
average. They also typically print what we consider double issues in every issue they
make.
Daffodil is vampire noire tale. I suppose any tale of the undead should fall in the noir
category, but this story seems to work hard at it. There is a bit of difficulty in grasping
some of what is happening here but that may be that part of it is lost in translation. It
may also be that Soleil likes to offer there books in three issue chunks and call the
miniseries when they are really an ongoing story. It is easy to pick up issue 4 and think
you are reading issue 1. This however, doesn’t seem to be the case here. Which is
slightly disconcerting.

The main character is Daffodil, who is a vampire and seems to be something like a cop
of the vampires. At the least, she and her friends Globuline and Achilles are enforcers
for the top vampires in the world, making sure the dark and the damned are only as evil
as they want them to be. The primary concern seems to be that too many vampires are
siring rather than merely eating which is knocking the food chain out of balance. Soon
there will be too many feeders and not enough food. So the enforcers set out to save the
world armed with their vampire powers and their sexy lingerie.

The thing that appealed to me originally

on this book was the art evoked fond
memories of Smile Time. The vampires in
this book look like the puppet version of
Angel and Spike when they had their run-
ins with the evil TV show both on TV and
in the comics. I looked forward to some
campy chuckles that I never found.
The look of the book is both cool and
disturbing and not in the cool disturbing
way that I like form my vampire tales.
There was too much of a cartoon-y feel
for me to be comfortable with the sultry
and sinister side of the book. I loved dark
wash of every page adding to the darkness
of the story.

For those more comfortable with the Euro

style of story telling or like their vampires
barely dressed, this is probably worth the
read. For the rest of us, it’s probably
worth waiting for the trade paperback
collections to appear in your library.
Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons
By Pauline Paré

Farewell to Old Friends

I love it when a series ends on its own terms after a successful run. This seems to be
more prevalent with sitcoms but not unheard of in television drama. I love the shocker
ending (Rosanne), the sweet ending (Friends) and the confusing yet controversial
ending (Sopranos). When a show becomes an icon, the ending can be bittersweet
(M*A*S*H, Cheers). Of course, my favourite ending has to be the blow my mind,
exciting ending (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). There are 2 major series winding up this
year and both have the potential for a ‘blow my mind’ kind of ending.
Lost has presented us with many mysteries and much to discuss over its Six year run.
Every time ABC gives me the countdown of the finale episodes of Lost, I get a shiver up
my spine. The characters have become like friends or at least strange acquaintances over
the years and I am rooting for my favourites to survive and the nastier ones to get what
is coming to them.

No matter what, I know I will be thrilled and

hopefully the ending prompts many
discussions for years to come. I am intrigued at
this new, sideways time line that has sprouted
up for all the characters and the glimpse at the
characters behind the island (Joshua and The
Man in Black). I hope that Hurley is OK
because I am kind of fond of the big guy.
Whether Jack survives or not, I hope that all is
not in vain and he becomes to some extent the
hero he always tried to be. I hope that Jin and
Sun will finally be reunited (enough already).

Most importantly, I hope that Sawyer loses his

shirt again at least once before the series ends.
(A girl has needs!)

On March 26th, the official news was released

that this is the final season of “24”. The whole
cast has reworked the final 8 episodes to;
hopefully, give the show an ending worthy of
its dramatic 8 year run.

Kiefer truly created an icon in his character of Jack Bauer, whether you love Jack or hate
him. He has certainly done his share of dirty deeds in the name of saving the United
States but he was a complex character that was worth rooting for. The concept of real-
time in “24” has kept many glued to the television with each action packed episode. I
hope for the kind of exciting, action ending that will blow my mind and cement “24”s
position in television history.

All things must come to an end except for maybe Simpsons (19 seasons so far) and Law
and Order (20 seasons and counting). Let us hope that more of our favourite shows end
with a bang!